Birthday Milestone, August Quilting and Stitching Thoughts

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly 

Isn't it interesting how certain projects stir our creative side.  I hope you also experience that feeling of joy, little jabs of joy, when you see a design and know it would be something you would love to work on. 

Linda, The Texan Quilt Gal, felt that zing I'm sure when she saw Jen Kingwell's beautiful Wensleydale quilt featured on the cover of her latest book Quilt Recipes. Linda has made a lovely start on it so be sure to drop over and have a look. 

I have Quilt Lovely which I bought because I was taken with the quilt Jen named Glitter.  It is so like me to be drawn to blocks that have lots of pieces that would work well with hand piecing. And in looking through the book, I was also struck by the quilt she named Halo, so much so I've ordered the templates. I also love curves in quilt blocks and I hope I am better at forming them than when I made the Fans. More about Halo later.

When I saw this pretty design I knew I would share it with you. It reminds me of Dresdens. What is it about Art Gallery with all the free patterns they share! Their Look Books for each fabric line are so gorgeous to look through and dream about making. This one is called the Buenos Aires Quilt Block..

So many opportunities to showcase certain fabrics or colours.  Here is the link to the free PDF Download.

I did get to go through my cross stitching stash to choose another chart to begin as a birthday treat. That took mere minutes because I do not have that much on hand.  I chose Autumn Quakers by Rosewood Manor and I was happy to find the fabric, 28 count Cashel linen, I could use for it. I really like the plums and golds, autumnal colours used in this one.

 However, I do not have the threads but made the decision to indulge myself by ordering a curated Valdani Fibre bundle from a Canadian online shop Gitta's. So a new start is in the offing. Meanwhile, here is the progress on Fraktur Flowers. 

What I am listening to while stitching besides Floss tube....Lately this book called Three Martini Lunches at the Ritz about a brief relationship between poets, Anne (yet another clever Anne!) Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Both committed suicide later in life which is such a bleak notion to digest. However, what I would have given to have been a fly on the wall and listened to the conversations two such brilliant women would have had!  Their very influential work very much lives on. 

I'll leave you this week with this photo of me taken on my 70th birthday by one of the hydrangea bushes in front. This is the one I cut down to the ground two years ago; it grew back fine last year but has really flourished this summer with all our extreme heat. Technically, it's probably a tree now.

I hope there is some zing in your life, something that is giving you jabs of joy these final days of August, 2021. 

Linking up with Not Afraid of Color, Kathy's Quilts and Life in the Scrapatch.